Andi Land

We watched The War With Grandpa on our trip a few weeks back. We’d never heard of it before but it was cute and funny. Very enjoyable.

I think we had our luggage tags at that point but not our boarding passes. Those came closer to the cruise. But you don’t need the boarding pass for the second cruise if you’re on the same ship.

I also had terrible internet on my cruise. I ended up signing in to the computers in the Crows Nest on Koningsdam to check in that way. The internet up there was much better than what I was getting on my phone.

I just did a back to back cruise and printed both sets of luggage tags from home. I put the new tags on when we switched rooms. I have a tiny travel stapler that I always bring with me.

I was on the 11/5 and 11/12 sailings and the water was shut off on both of those for the same time frames. We received notice each time.

We’ve also been on 3 HAL cruises this year and use the promenade for walks a few times a day. Gotta get those steps in ☺️ And I agree with you, we’ve never encountered anyone jogging. We’ve seen some fast walkers but no joggers.

I grew up in the land of self serve buffets…Las Vegas. I’ve seen so much disgusting behavior from those experiences that I NEVER eat in buffets that have self service. Just sit back and observe for a bit and I’m sure it’ll turn most people off.

As others have said, no running on the promenade. There are people sleeping below that deck. Also, the Pinnacle class promenade is not as great as other classes. It has areas where it really narrows and has room for one person walking and someone passing would be tight. It even becomes challenging for morning walks if you want to pass in those narrow areas. There aren’t loungers on the Pinnacle class promenade to worry about but the narrowness is an issue. Best advice is to use the running deck up top or the treadmills in the gym (great view up there).

Excellent advice! I did not send anything through the app. We were a family of 6 and did our best to just enjoy the leisurely lunch. It was the last day of the cruise so we really didn’t have anything else planned. The big group that came in was at least 25-30 people and surely overwhelmed the cook staff. I will make a comment on my after cruise survey and see if I get a response to that. Thanks for the good advice. It’s much appreciated.

Not only did they not offer anything, the PG manager “disappeared” after explaining that our order was misplaced and we never saw him again…

I just got off the K on Saturday after 2 weeks on board. The line up for anytime dining was long both weeks. Week one with had Club Orange and week 2:we had fixed dining. There were 2 nights during the MDR week that dinner took over 3 hours. On our final sea day we had lunch at the Pinnacle. We arrived at noon and left at 2:15. We were the last ones in the restaurant. They lost our order and then found it after they started cooking for a group of 25 or more people. The manager apologized when we questioned why we hadn’t seen our appetizers after an hour long wait. That’s when he checked with the kitchen and let us know what happened. The food was good when it finally arrived but service was super slow.

Currently on the Koningsdam for the second week. Service has been hit or miss the entire time. A few items to note: Both weeks have been pretty much at capacity with over 2500 guests. All the things (salt, pepper, butter, syrup, bread) are readily available. MDR dinners this week have been really slow. One night took over three hours and food was delivered cold. Unlimited laundry is still $49 No extra charge for an extra appetizer in PG the one time we ate there. Week one we had Club Orange and it felt like HAL oversold that option. It was difficult to get a table quite often and we had to be put on a waitlist. Crew does not seem as happy as we’ve encountered in the past. Could be that they have to deal with a lot of complaints. We’ve heard more complaints from passengers directed at crew than in all past cruises combined. The biggest change my husband noted was that alcohol drinks seem to be being served in smaller glasses for the same cost as before. We stayed in an OV room week one on deck 1 and weren’t offered turndown service. We are in a verandah on deck 5 this week and turndown service was automatic. Chocolates and towel animals only on dressy night. And speaking of dressy night…apparently anything goes. Even shorts. I was surprised to see shorts in the MDR (on a lady). They were bedazzled but still shorts. Overall it’s been a weird couple of weeks. It hasn’t left me wanting to book again soon. My next cruise is with Celebrity in August of 2023. It’ll be good to get something to compare HAL to. I’m ready to branch out and try something new and I haven’t felt that way after prior HAL cruises. Nothing on this cruise has been outright bad but nothing has been memorable either.

We asked and they said no separate line. But, take that with a grain of salt. They also had no idea what Club Orange priority check in was and had to go ask for help on what line to put us in. And this week they didn’t have a desk prior to security. The security line was the first one. I think there’s lots of confusion.

I think these are the reasons it’s not being used in San Diego. Would be curious to know if other ports are still using.

Just boarded in San Diego on the 5th and they did NOT have a separate line for VeriFLY.

I’m on the November 5th sailing and knew it was sold out but didn’t realize just how many were on board. It’s definitely a full ship. Maybe the port gets the info ahead of time when it’s full to have more employees available? Just a guess, no basis in fact. 😂

I like to bring in my own water bottle and individual packets of Propel flavored mix and make my own flavored water. Keeps me from buying expensive bar drinks. I do still have a few but this allows me to limit them. I prepurchase a bottle of rum for my hubby so he can mix his own rum and coke drinks. we set aside money for one specialty restaurant each cruise and wait for an MDR menu that doesn’t appeal and then treat ourselves. we DIY our own shore excursions if it’s a place we’ve been before. We are learning that we don’t always need a balcony room. If getting on the ship means an inside or OV, we book the cheaper room. Being onboard and doing more traveling is more Important than room type.

He also gave the number for November 5th which is sailing Saturday.

Thanks for the recap. We are doing our first inside cabin in May. This gives me hope it’ll all be okay.

I’ll use myself as an example. I got a free inside room to Mexico. Paid $596 to upgrade to ocean view. Paid $350 for Club Orange. Paid $700 for Have it all. So, $1650 all in. That doesn’t include my excursions, gratuities, or expected spa treatments. We’ll decide day of if we want a retreat cabana. Right now that same room is $3064 rack rate. I got a good deal. But it isn’t “free”. I’m sure there are people who go onboard with their free room and spend as little as possible. But I’d bet there are more people like me who have the add-ons. Cruise critic is a small percentage of the cruise population. The free room promo must be good business right now between on board spending and getting ships full.

Thank you! You said it more succinctly than I but that’s the point I was trying to make ☺️ Capacity is key at this point in time and freebies help them hit those marks.

My 2 cents. I think they keep offering these deals so they can speak to capacity. Like, ships are now sailing at 95% capacity. It’s a good selling point for their advertising to get more people on board. What’s there to be scared of if ships are sailing full? Anyway, that’s my take.

Did you see the Historical Baja Peninsula cruise? It’s also December of 2023 and goes way up the Sea of Cortez to lesser traveled ports. But it is on the Volendam and may impact whether or not you’re interested.

Not available on cruises less than 6 days or Grand Voyages.

In 2019, we had a retreat Cabana that we authorized my in laws to use if we weren’t up there. It wasn’t an issue at all.